First Crush
by dawnmescher
Summary: Padma Patil gets her first crush as she boards the train to Hogwarts for the first time.


**First Crush**

*** * ***

_I do not own any of the following characters, nor any of the events, items, or well.. anything involved. They belong to Headmaster Rowling._

_However, all characterizations of Roger Davies and Padma Patil are my own. I play Padma on an RPG, and this was something I came up with as back story for her._

Padma Patil leaned her head against the bench she had been sitting on for fifteen minutes. Her parents had just left her and her twin sister, Parvati, at Platform 9 ¾ only moments before. She wished that her parents would have taken more of an interest in their first voyage away from home. It just didn't seem right to her, to sit on a bench surrounded by only one person she knew.

She looked over to her sister, who was busy scanning the crowd for their neighbor Lavender Brown. As soon as Parvati spotted her, she stood up, mumbling a quick goodbye, leaving Padma alone on the bench. 

_Brave new world, Padma thought to herself. She opened up her copy of the muggle book of the same name. She'd spent the entire summer with her nose in a book, oblivious to the summer fun that could be had. Padma didn't have many friends. It could be said that it wasn't her forte, but that would really be true. She just preferred books to companions. Book, she often said, didn't tear up your favourite quill or your brand new set of paints. _

Padma often wondered if all twins went through this period of estrangement. It seemed, to her, that she and Parvati had nothing in common. Where Padma was quiet, Parvati was boisterous. When Padma calmed herself in the library, Parvati preferred slumber parties. In fact, the only thing identical between them was that they were named after Goddesses. 

"All aboard the Hogwarts' Express!" The train announcer's voice boomed. 

Butterflies began to stir in Padma's stomach. Suddenly, it occurred to her that she had no place on this train. She had no partner to sit with, no friend to organize her thoughts. What if she just didn't fit in?

Padma was a small, delicate girl. The heavy trunk branded with her initials was almost too much for her to pull along behind her. Slowly she made her way to the train. After the small line gave way, she reached the end of the stairs leading onto the train. The wheels of her trunk caught in the grate. She gave it a hard tug, but it stayed put. Several other students were groaning and hollering for her to hurry up. She gave them an apologetic smile.

"Ickle firstie! Hurry up!" One voice bellowed. It wasn't until a red-haired boy several years older than her grabbed her trunk and lifted the wheels onto the stairs that she could move it. Again, she mumbled apologies.

People kept pushing past her, shoving her into walls. Those butterflies in her stomach re-emerged. She was having a hard time keeping down the two biscuits her mother had given her before she left the station. Padma thought she might stand aside and wait until the commotion died down, but then she'd never find a seat. It was going to be hard enough as it was. 

She'd read about Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry all summer. She wanted to be as familiar with it as she could before attending. She'd read all about the different Houses, about the Sorting Hat, the enchanted staircases. Even about Headmaster Dumbledore, who to her surprise was a supremely brilliant wizard. 

Up ahead, she could make out Parvati and Lavender giggling over some boys a few feet ahead of her. Parvati leaned over and whispered something to Lavender, which caused a giggle fit in the other girl. Beyond her, the boy they seemed to be laughing at turned around, almost as shyly as she felt. His hair was beyond messy. His glasses were dangerously taped together at the center. His clothes were ill-fitting and tattered. She caught the glimpse of a lightning bolt scar just under the mop of hair.

_Harry Potter__! She surmised. Again, she found all this in her reading. He had been the one to vanquish You-Know-Who. __Interesting times, she mused._

"Ow!'

Padma's jaw dropped, as she realized she had run over someone with her trunk. She looked at her victim, with a look of fear in her eyes. 

"Merlin, I'm so sorry. Really, so sorry." She muttered, wincing, waiting for the person to start yelling about it.

"It's alright. There's no permanent damage." The boy answered, smiling. He rubbed his foot a bit, through his shoes. He had dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and the most adorable smile Padma had ever seen. Not that she had seen many, she spent most of her days locked in her room surrounding by the books her parents bought her in replacement of friends. 

Padma noticed him, a remorseful look upon her face. She had dropped her book in her awkwardness. She bent over to pick it up, along with pushing her trunk out of the boy's way.

"Sorry," she managed to say. "I didn't mean to run into you."

"Don't be silly," he quipped. "Accidents _do_ happen. Can't fault someone for that." Again, he smiled, showing dimples about as cute as his smile.

This time, Padma beamed in return. He hadn't yelled at her, or patronized her for being a First Year. She reached out her hand to greet him. "I'm Padma Patil." She said, suddenly feeling dorky.

"Roger. Roger Davies." He replied, taking a hold of her trunk. "I can carry this for you. Do you know where you're sitting?"

She shook her head solemnly. "Not yet. I-I don't really know anyone here yet. This is my first time on the train." Padma waited for a condescending comment. 

"I'm sure you'll do well at Hogwarts. As long as you don't run over everyone in the school's toe." Effortlessly, he carried her trunk down the small hallway into an empty compartment. He lifted it up and placed it in the overhead storage. He took a look at the book she was holding. "Muggle fiction? Haven't read much of it myself. My father says you can learn more from Wizarding books anyway." He swiped his hands together, as if to clean the dirt off his hands.

Padma just smiled at him.

"Well, you're all set. Hope to see you in Ravenclaw." Without another word, the boy turned around and left the compartment. She watched him leave, making a mental note to remember his name. 

_Roger Davies, Padma sighed, blissfully._

And with that, Padma Patil had her first crush.


End file.
